Preservation
by ShioriAyano
Summary: AU, No Set Pairings: A grieving Hinata discovers a mystery, a murder, and so much more. Are you ready yet?
1. Prologue: The Beautiful Princess

Disclaimer: If you think I own Naruto, I have some disappointing news for you

**Disclaimer:** If you think I own Naruto, I have some disappointing news for you. I don't.

**Original Notes:** This story was loosely inspired by the movie, "Pan's Labyrinth" (I don't own that either) It takes place in a little town of my imagination, and in my mind it looks like it takes place in the early 1900's. It is in an Alternate Universe, so no, no ninjas. I don't feel completely comfortable with this chapter, I just feel like something is _missing…_But I have a feeling that the rest will turn out nicely. Thanks and review!!

**Secondary Notes: 9/6/08:** Did some revamping and such and fixed some parts. Intend on doing it with everything else I have up here. So if you've already been reading this before, be sure to look through it again just so you know what's been changed!!

**- -oOo- -**

**Preservation**

**Prologue:****The Beautiful Princess**

**-o-**

_A long time ago, there lived a young princess. She had hair like midnight, and eyes of the moon, and was born of the stars and the cool evening breeze. She was beautiful._

**-o-**

Hinata stared out of the tinted car window as rain splattered dismally on the moving vehicle. The drops of water that raced across the glass of the window smeared and blurred whatever view there was, so sightseeing was clearly out of the question. The twelve-year-old missed home already. Home was where she had all of her _good _memories. Memories of the small garden she had kept, all the friends she had had, the bustling town that was filled to the brim with so much laughter and joy, and the warm home that contained all the love in the world. Her home…

The memories of her home were the ones she adored the most, now painfully so, however. Hinata remembered her mother's musical laughter echoing off the wooden halls and the lovely smell that wafted throughout the entire household after her mother would cook. Mother…

The word brought tears to Hinata's pearl eyes and made her heart lurch in pain. No longer would she ever hear her lovely voice as she sang and laughed, no longer would she ever taste her wonderful cooking or watch in awe as she went through everyday without a care. All Hinata could cling to now were the bittersweet memories of her mother's angelic face and gentle, loving eyes. All Hinata had now were the memories of when her mother was _alive_; when her mother was a living breathing person; when her mother was _real_. Because when she was dead, she was nothing but skin, muscle, organs, and bones; she did not have that glorious soul when she was rotting away in a casket six feet underground!

**-o-**

_She was so beautiful, that the sun, envious of the light the princess radiated, ceased shining in anger. She had the voice of a chorus of angels, and the wind, upset over its song being forgotten, ceased to blow in revenge. She was so full of life, that every plant grew resentful, and ceased growing simply to spite her._

**-o-**

A sharp pinch to her upper arm quickly removed Hinata out of her painful reminiscences.

"Stop crying, Hinata, we're nearly to Father's house. You know he won't like it if he finds out that you've been weeping," Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, said dully. But Hinata could see that she made no move to hide her patronizing stare. Hinata nodded mutely, and quickly rubbed her eyes and turned her attention backed towards the rain streaked window, she hadn't even realized she was full-out sobbing.

_Hanabi…_

Hanabi didn't look much like her older sister. Hanabi's dark hair just reached past her small shoulders, while her sister's hair was cut into a boyish bob cut. Her pearl eyes were harder and more…definite, it seemed, when Hinata's were softer and calmer. They both had dealt with their mother's death. Hinata had, of course, wept for days inside of her bedroom, and completely lost all confidence in herself; she stuttered more and grew shy and insecure around other people. However, Hanabi had withdrawn herself, acting indifferent to everything; even the news that they were to live with their father now did not affect her. When she had heard the news, she simply nodded and went about the rest of her 'zombie' routine; Hinata had cried against her pillow.

**-o-**

_This, of course, caused problems for the world, and the king of the land decided that she could no longer continue to be as she was if she were to ruin the nation. He hired a witch to cast a spell on her to hide her true nature, and then he banished her to a realm of sadness and pain. _

**-o-**

Hinata and Hanabi's father was a cold person, and it was no secret that Hiashi Hyuga wanted nothing to do with his daughters. But because he was their father, it was law that he take care of them since their mother was no longer around. Her mother had divorced him when Hanabi was three and Hinata was eight, no longer wishing to spend her time on the man that was constantly away on 'business', a word which he never cared to elaborate on. So their mother had taken them and left to sunny Konoha, leaving behind the dreary land Hinata's father called 'home'.

Hinata had always been terribly uncomfortable around her stone of a father. He rarely spoke to her when she lived with him before; he rarely even looked at her! And she craved that attention…but when he did give it to her, Hinata would immediately wish she was invisible again. For he would look at her with so much disgust with those stone white eyes of his and would then often rudely ask her to step out of his path, muttering on his way out just loud enough so she could hear "what a failure" she was.

_That_ thought made Hinata furious, but not with him, with herself. She was furious at herself for not being good enough, for not being able to meet his ever-changing standards, for not being the person he wanted her to be. She was sick at herself for being _herself_; the worthless little push-over, the lost cause, the nothing. It made her even more disgusted with herself, so much that she had to bite her lip to keep from crying again.

The rain began to fall harder as the black vehicle snaked up the rocky path that led up to Hinata's private hell-on-earth, reflecting her mood. She continued to stare out of the window reviewing painful memories until she felt someone pinch her again.

"Hinata," Hanabi said, making her older sister flinch under her dead stare. "Come, we're at father's home."

Hinata once again nodded mutely, turning her nervous stare to look behind Hanabi's shoulder at the looming shadow that would soon be her 'home'.

She silently considered fainting.

**-o-**

_But the enchantment would only last so long, and someday the princess would return, albeit maybe in a different body, in order to prove her place on the throne. Someday she would come back, and she would take what was rightfully hers._

**-o-**


	2. The Golden Box

Disclaimer: Nope

**Disclaimer: **Nope. Not yet.

**Original Notes: **All right. Here we go again. Sorry for the terribly long wait for this to be posted, but between drama club, homework, school, babysitting, and the occasional writer's block, I have found this very difficult to complete. Following causeiambetta's advice, I _tried_ to make the ending a _little_ more suspenseful, but you guys have to bear with me! This is my first actual "story", and don't worry, we WILL get to the action, you guys just have to wait! Anyway, thank you SO much for taking your time to read this. And PLEASE review! It really helps. :)

**Secondary Notes: 9/7/08:** Did some revamping and such and fixed some parts. Intend on doing it with everything else I have up here. So if you've already been reading this before, be sure to look through it again just so you know what's been changed!!

**- - oOo - -**

**Preservation**

**Chapter 1:****The Golden Box**

**-o-**

_Once in a far away kingdom, there lived a girl who always found herself in some sort of mischief. She loved to talk about other's faults, spread rumors, and stick her self in other's problems. She was a curious thing, and adored knowing everything, and one day, it became her downfall._

**-o-**

The driver of the sleek black car, an aging man in a black suit, pulled effortlessly into the stone driveway and parked in front of the large house. Hinata had to admit, he was very good at his job; he hadn't said a word the entire time. The man unlocked the car's doors and slid out of the car, ignoring the heavy rain that pounding the area. He moved around the back of the car at a leisurely pace and opened the trunk while Hinata watched the blurry scene through the tinted window in mild fascination; he seemed perfectly at ease with the weather.

After getting their luggage (which wasn't much) he walked to the side of the car that faced the dark form of the house and opened the vehicle's door. The man then handed Hanabi her small suitcase and escorted her to the doorway of the mansion. She nodded her thanks and stood with her lifeless eyes open, but seeing nothing. Hinata once again felt a sharp tremble run down her spine. Why must Hanabi act like that? Why was she acting so _old_ when she was so _young_? It unnerved her…

"Ahem? Will you be getting out of the car or not, mistress Hyuga?"

Hinata's attention snapped back towards the middle-aged driver. Hinata flushed bright red furiously and lowered her eyes, muttering sorry numerous times as she stumbled out of the car. She grabbed her brown suitcase from his wrinkled hands swiftly and nearly sprinted to the large decorated doors. She heard him muttering under his breath.

When she reached the large, sheltered marble platform that led to the doorway, she turned around just in time to see the glossy black automobile pull effortlessly out of the driveway once again.

**-o-**

_There lived a wizard just outside of town, and nobody spoke to him. They said he could conjure up demons and nightmares, and that he had a taste for young children, especially girls. The girl's mother warned her about this wizard, and told her never to go near him or his old cottage. Naturally, however, the girl's curiosity got the better of her._

**-o-**

An overwhelming sense of dread consumed Hinata then. She could have stayed in that car… She had money in her pocket; she could have paid that man to take her back to Konoha. Ms. Yuhi would have definitely taken her in, and then Hinata would be able to be with all of her precious friends again. Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Naruto…

"No," She whispered to herself. She would never go back, she _couldn't_ go back. She was now stuck in hell, and hell was a one way street without her mother.

"Well, Hinata, we should be going inside now. Father is probably waiting," Hanabi said and turned to knock on the large, decorated, mahogany door.

_Yeah right, _Hinata thought nastily. _Like he would ever be waiting for us._

She turned her attention back towards the door as a clear, piercing knock resonated from the door to the surrounding trees. Hanabi knocked several times, each pound like a clock, counting down to the moment when that door would open, and Hinata's life would spiral downwards. This she knew.

She waited, for once envying her sister's ability to look unnaturally cool and calm. Instead she fidgeted; messing with her pale fingers, the hem of her gray sweater, and the leather strap of her suitcase. It reminded her of a horror movie; the unsuspecting victims waiting in front of the house that held their doom. They would walk inside, and never come out. Exactly like a horror film. She choked back another sob that threatened to overtake her.

Then, the massive door opened. Hinata lifted her head up sharply, with the vague hope that her father would be there, and he would welcome them with open arms and explain how _sorry_ he was that their mother had died and how _happy_ he was that they were going to live with him. Her hopes were foolish, she knew that, and she pushed down the urge to feel disappointed when she saw it wasn't her father, but rather the old housekeeper, Midori.

**-o-**

_The girl went to the wizard's home, and peered through his windows and the cracks in the wall. When she realized he was out, she decided to enter his home, and see what she could find._

**-o-**

Midori was an extremely old woman, with more lines on her face than the leaves on the trees. She was blind in her left eye and hard of hearing, and had been serving Hinata's father as long as Hinata could remember.

"Hmmm? I'm sorry children, but you have the wrong house. Please try somewhere else." She spoke in a barely audible voice that sounded aged and rasped. She turned away, preparing to shut the door, when Hanabi said:

"Actually, Miss Midori, we are Hiashi Hyuga's daughters. I am Hanabi, and this is my sister, Hinata."

"Oh!" Midori cried, obviously flustered as she tugged on the silver knot of hair that sat atop her head. "Oh! Please forgive me, Mistress Hanabi, Mistress Hinata! I didn't see it was you! Please, please, come inside! It's freezing outside!" She flung the door open and beckoned for them to come in.

Hinata followed after Midori and Hanabi inside the large house. Midori began chattering happily at how pleased she was that they were there as she took there dripping coats from there backs. Hinata looked around as she spoke, not really hearing what the old woman was saying.

The house hadn't changed at all. All the elaborate furniture that had been imported from all over the world were in their same places from when Hinata had lived here before. The tables, rugs, everything; nearly _everything_ had stayed the same.

Everything except for the feel of the house.

The place was bathed in shadows. And the rain that poured from the sky and rhythmically hit the residence only added to Hinata's unnerved feeling. It felt so much _darker_ than it had before; as if there were lethal secrets that hid in the roaming gloom. It felt as if there were eyes that watched from the impassive faces of the portraits of her ancestors. She shivered unwillingly.

**-o-**

_While rooting through his many things, many baubles and shining things caught her eye, and one in particular. It was a small gold box, decorated with images of fauns and fairies, set with emeralds and rubies and all sorts of precious stones. The box easily fit inside her palm, and the girl decided it wouldn't hurt if she took this one small thing. So she slipped it in her pocket, and walked home._

**-o-**

"Hinata, are you alright dear? You look as if you've seen a ghost!" Midori said, folding their dripping jackets over her frail arm.

Hinata flushed and spoke quickly, keeping her eyes on her muddy leather shoes. "I-I am f-f-fine."

Midori looked unconvinced but did not voice her opinion; servants were not supposed probe into their host's lives. "Well then, I suppose I should take you to your father. By the way, does he know you were coming?"

"We sent him a letter about our situation a month ago. But it is possible that he didn't receive it," Hanabi said walking after Midori, with Hinata stumbling after them.

"Ah," was Midori's soft reply. The walked in silence for a little while, as Hinata struggled to inconspicuously hide the fact that she was attempting to remember where all the hallways and doors were. It would be embarrassing if she were to get lost.

Hinata remembered that her father's office was in the very back of the mansion. He was always a reclusive man, and when she had lived her before, he had always been in that office. He rarely ever came out, and on the rare occasions he did, it was normally to greet business associates and prominent guests. He would then lead them to his office where they would be for hours talking in low voices that would mix with the thud of the rain that often fell here. Hiashi Hyuga _never_ let his family in there. He rarely spoke to them, and when he did, it was to tell them how they should "straighten up" and "quit embarrassing him" in front of his guests.

Hinata remembered how he would sometimes glance at Hanabi with something close to hope—hope that Hanabi would turn out better, stronger than his wife had and Hinata could. Burning envy would always erupt in Hinata when he would do that, and she found that the memory brought up the same feeling, too. She quickly bit her lip, not enough to draw blood, but enough to sidetrack her from the recollections.

**-o-**

_Later that night, when all was quite in the house, the girl's curiosity finally became so hard to control, that she decided she simply had to open the box. So she took it to her room, sat on her sheets and opened it. _

**-o-**

Midori was growing uncomfortable with the silence, just as she had when they had made their home here before, and so she decided to make small talk with them. And, against her better judgment, voiced a question that had been tugging at her since she recognized them at the door.

"So…why _are_ you here exactly?" She inquired, turning her wrinkled face towards them.

Hanabi stiffened and stopped walking. Hinata lowered her head and gripped the leather handle of the suitcase even tighter.

Oops. Wrong question.

**-o-**

_Suddenly, the wizard appeared, and before the girl could do anything, he ate her whole._

**-o-**

**End Notes: **So? You like it? You strongly dislike it? Tell me what you think and review!


	3. The Wolf and the Nightingale

Disclaimer: As of late, I still have not received the letter that states I own Naruto

**Disclaimer: **As of late, I still have not received the letter that states I own Naruto. Sorry.

**Original Notes:** I feel like I have truly been accepted into now! For the first time it _would not_ let me upload my documents. And from what I here, that happens a lot. If it _had_ worked, I could've gotten this to you all sooner, but, alas, I could not. Any way, we finally have some action in this chapter! I think... It would be torture to get another slow update with a boring chapter, wouldn't it. This story is truly just a "on the whim" story, as I like to say. I have a vague idea of what I want to take place, but as of late, I have had so many ideas, that I truly have no idea what I want to do with this one. Just how crazy are these ideas? Well here's one: I had an idea about turning it into a romance between Hinata and Gaara. But don't worry, I trashed it. Please review!

**Secondary Notes: 9/7/08:** Did some revamping and such and fixed some parts. Intend on doing it with everything else I have up here. So if you've already been reading this before, be sure to look through it again just so you know what's been changed!!

**- - oOo - -**

**Preservation**

**Chapter 2:****The Wolf and the Nightingale**

**-o-**

_Once there was a small nightingale, who every night would sing from her perch on a pine tree a song so lovely that it enchanted almost everyone who heard it. She sang of the wind and of the sun and of the beauty of nature until the sun rose, when she then rested._

**-o-**

"Hinata," Hanabi spoke with a forced calm. Hinata knew what she wanted; this was the only subject Hanabi would not discuss. Talk about their deceased mother broke into her cold shell too easily and proved she still had heart. A heart that was slowly breaking as the days went by.

Hinata stared at her feet, wringing her hands tighter around the leather strap of her suitcase, worrying over what she would say as to not get Hanabi even more irritated and embarrass herself even more. She hated to mess up the few times she was trusted with something, even if it was as simple as speaking to a housemaid. It was important to her, to prove her worth, she might not be something great, but she was _something._ So she lifted her head slowly, she wanted to look Midori in the eye to tell her this.

But, as a young child doesn't look at their parents faces when being punished, Hinata couldn't bring herself to stare exactly at Midori's crinkled face, so she made do with the wall behind her, memorizing the soft green color and the dark jade flower pattern as she spoke.

"O-o-our…m-m-m-mother d-died a-a-and we h-have no cause f-f-for w-why b-but T-T-Tsunade s-said s-s-she --," she stopped speaking in her rushed and timid voice when her sister turned to glare at her. Hinata's gaze once again fell to the floor as she waited for Midori's reaction. But, to her great relief, all she said was:

"Who's Tsunade?"

Hanabi was quick to reply. "She's the head nurse at the Konoha Hospital." She said quickly, her façade back in its place. Then she added: "We shouldn't keep father waiting any longer."

**-o- **

_One day, a wolf who was hunting during the night, heard the little bird singing, and grew enchanted by her voice. _

"_Why," he said to himself, "If she sounds so beautiful, she must taste delicious! I will hunt her instead, and have a meal that will surely taste like food for the gods." So he changed his route, and followed the song until he came to the nightingale's perch._

**-o-**

"Ah, yes. I suppose we should go see him," she said quickly as she turned around and began leading them away from the entrance hall, but not before she sent a sympathetic glance Hinata's way. Hinata flipped her head down. The thing she hated most next to people not having any faith in her is when they would treat her with _sympathy_. She wanted people to treat her like a normal girl. One who wasn't _weak_. But what could she do? She _was _weak. She was pathetic and helpless before her mother's death, and even more so afterwards.

The trio returned to walking on through the hallways, and then continued up on a large, ornate, winding oak staircase at the end of a hall painted in deep crimson with deeper red stripes running. To Hinata, it looked like the wall was smothered in blood. She squeezed her eyes shut to dispel the images of crimson liquid flowing down the walls. Her father wasn't the nicest man, but, as far as Hinata's knowledge went, he had never hurt anyone_ physically_. Emotionally… yes. Hinata had scars to prove that. So why was she seeing these things? She pondered this as Midori, Hanabi, and herself walked up the massive curving staircase.

**-o-**

_The wolf then smiled, being careful to hide his teeth, and said in a voice as sweet as honey, "Why, small nightingale, you sing so beautifully! Please tell me, what is it that makes your voice so sweet?"_

_And the nightingale answered, "Why dear wolf, it is my throat and my lungs and a blessing from the gods that makes me sound so well."_

**-o-**

The walls on the second floor were a little better, being that they were painted an off white with a green flower pattern. But Hinata still felt uncomfortable, and the question was, why? She didn't like living here before her mother took Hinata and Hanabi to Konoha, but she didn't feel like she was in danger of _dieing._ The thought gave her chills, but she forced herself to push it back. She was a coward, and this was just another one of her cowardly thoughts. It was nothing, just like herself.

Hinata bit her bottom lip roughly, but not enough to draw blood, too keep herself from crying. As Hanabi said earlier, it wouldn't improve her slipping relationship with her father if she let the tears fall in front of him.

"Alright, here is your father's office, Mistress Hanabi, Mistress Hinata." Midori spoke softly, as she opened up her hands to take their small suitcases. "I'll take your bags to your room, and you can go there once you're finished speaking with him." Hinata unwillingly gave her suitcase up. Now what could her hands mess with inconspicuously? Midori then quickly walked around them back towards the other end of the hall, leaving Hinata and her younger sister to stare at the large mahogany door that stood at the far end of the hallway.

**-o-**

_The wolf replied, "How fascinating! Of course, I cannot question the gods why they chose you to sound so lovely, so may you come down here and sing for me so that I might see your throat and hear your lungs to understand better?"_

**-o-**

Hinata grew nervous, and tugged helplessly at the hem of her dark pleated skirt. Hanabi was making no move to knock on them door, and with the stone mask that Hanabi always wore, she couldn't tell if she was planning to. Did her sister expect her to open the door herself? It was madness; crazy. Hinata couldn't do that. But what if she did? It wouldn't be much—but it could prove she could do something herself without messing up. All she had to do was knock on her father's door. The father that had always pushed her away, never believed in her, and weakened her with his cruel words and harsh glares. All she had to do was knock on his door.

She slowly moved forward…

…And watched as Hanabi quickly walked up and sharply knocked on the entrance four times. Hinata bowed her head, ashamed of herself. She had missed another chance. But she did not have time to wallow in her humiliation; for her father's gruff voice soon was heard through the doorway.

"Come in," He said without a hint of surprise, boredom, or any emotion at all. Just like Hanabi spoke. Hinata felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place. Hanabi opened the large door easily and walked in with Hinata trailing slowly behind her. She forced herself to look through her bangs and look at her father briefly.

**-o-**

_The nightingale, knowing no better, fluttered down to the wolf's level, and started a song about the cherry blossom tree blooming in spring. She shut her eyes as she sang and stretched out her throat so that the wolf might see it better, and puffed out her chest so that the wolf might watch it clearer._

**-o-**

Not really anything had changed about him, just like the house. He was already scrutinizing them; judging them with his stone white eyes. His large pale hands were in his lap, one on top of the other, his faux gold wedding band still on his ring finger on his left hand. He sat straight up in his large cushioned chair in front of a massive wooden desk. His face was sharp, his pale eyes cold, his mouth set into an emotionless line. Waves of authority and control emanate from him like a fountain. The true only difference about him was the lines that had set into his face around his eyes and mouth; a sign of aging. He looked at both of them quickly, before standing up fluidly and walking around to the front of his desk, talking as he did so.

"I received your letter and I am truly sorry about your predicament. I am pleased that you are back, Hinata and Hanabi, and am looking forward to our time together."

_Yeah, sure,_ thought Hinata bitterly, noting how his eyes and facial expression portrayed no remorse or joy at all. She could tell things would not go well already. Her father continued speaking.

"I trust you know the rules of the household. And I expect that you follow them at all times. Am I understood?" He asked. Both Hanabi and Hinata nodded. "Good. Now when I have guests over, you are to stay in your rooms silently during the time of the visit. I do not want you to get in my way. Am I understood?" The sisters nodded again. "Hanabi," he said, looking at her with that subtle look of hope. Hinata felt the jealousy erupt in her chest; she ground her teeth to keep it down. "You may leave to your room. Hinata, I wish for you to stay after."

"Yes, father," Hanabi replied shortly, and turned on her heel and left, shutting the door behind her. Hinata wanted to yell after her to stay, to not leave her with this monstrosity of a man, but knew she couldn't. She stared at her black dress shoes and wringed her hands together as her father walked closer to her. She pierced her lip with her teeth to keep herself from hyperventilating, not caring about the disgusting salty taste she got in her mouth as the blood ran on her tongue.

She was alone. She was alone in her father's office. Alone with_ him_. A cold hand gripped her chin roughly, and she was forced to stare into her father's white eyes that were filled with so much disgust and hatred, that she could imagine him better as a demon than a human being.

"_Hinata_," He spoke venomously, "Do not get into more than you can handle. You bite off more than you can chew, and you choke and _die_." He spat through clenched teeth. "Am I understood?" Hinata nodded fervently, the air catching in her throat. "Good, now get out of my sights _daughter dearest_."

He let go of her chin, and Hinata fell to the floor. Her vision blurred, and she fainted.

**-o-**

_She did not hear the wolf lick its lips, and was unaware as the wolf snapped its jaws, and could do nothing when the wolf finally moved his mouth around her small body, and ate her._

**-o-**

**End Notes:** Hmm, interesting. Not sure if I liked the ending so much. I was torn as to what I wanted to happen. What do you think?


	4. The Cat and the Mouse

Disclaimer: If I owned anything, I would be sitting beside a pool in a million dollar mansion

**Disclaimer: **If I owned anything, I would be sitting beside a pool in a million dollar mansion. Catch my drift?

**Original Notes: **HOLY COW I UPDATED!! And guess what? I delivered another short chapter with not much action!! Don't you just love me? Anyway, I'm really sorry that it took so long to get this up here, but life has been hectic and finding time to write anything has been difficult. I'm going to try a little harder to get things moving along a little quicker, and suggestions and comments are most welcome. I can very nearly promise that there will be some fun stuff coming soon!! Hehehe... And also, don't forget to read my other story (which hopefully will be updated soon), _Sister Dearest_! And now on to the main feature!!

**Secondary Notes: 9/7/08:** Did some revamping and such and fixed some parts. Intend on doing it with everything else I have up here. So if you've already been reading this before, be sure to look through it again just so you know what's been changed!!

**- -oOo- -**

**Preservation**

**Chapter 3:****The Cat and the Mouse**

**-o-**

_Once, in a small town, there lived a cat and a mouse who were constant companions. The mouse was shy and timid, while the cat brave and strong. They were utterly and completely inseparable in their camaraderie. _

**-o-**

Hinata awoke to Midori's ancient face uncomfortably close to her own. Her cheeks flushed a poppy red, and her scale-like eyes widened as she stared into the housemaid's murky black eyes.

"Oh, thank the heavens! I thought you were never going to wake up!" Midori exclaimed in a paper-thin voice. "How are you feeling? Hiashi said you were so tired you just up and fell asleep right there in his office! I was worried that you were ill, so I made you some chicken noodle soup. It's over there on the nightstand. It might be cold now, but I think it will be fine…"

Midori then leaned back to sit on a stool beside the bed that Hinata was lying in, still babbling at full speed as she reached for the soup on the small table next to her. Hinata sat up and nodded occasionally, not really listening to the words that were spilling like water from the woman's mouth. Instead, Hinata turned her attention on the room she was in, and was, for a fleeting moment, confused.

**-o-**

_The mouse was smart and saved up his food for the harsher months, and did all he could in order to make the future for himself comfortable, always planning ahead._

**-o-**

The walls were painted a faded shade of light yellow with white trim, and the single window in the room was drawn tight with curtains of a deeper gold. Hinata could still hear the pathetic pattering as the rain drizzled on. A small lamp on a stained maple wood desk across the room under the lone window illuminated the small room, revealing the finer details of the peeling paint and warped floors. A chest, made of the same wood as the desk, could be seen at the foot of the bed where Hinata's small black suitcase sat crookedly on it. The bed was placed against the wall in the middle of the room, and there was an old rocking chair that sat against the wall on the eastern corner, away from the window. The twin-sized bed was old, and was covered in a dusty golden comforter that was flat and torn at places from enduring the torture of mice and years.

Hinata realized with a stab of misery that this was her old bedroom.

She suddenly recognized the room's shape and the placement of everything, and like the rest of the house, it was evident nothing had been changed since her mother had stormed out of the house all those years ago without a single glance back….

She was torn out of her reverie when Midori shoved a delicate china bowl into Hinata's hands that was filled to the brim with the chicken noodle soup. She was still speaking like an auctioneer as she roughly pushed a silver spoon into the bowl, causing the now-cold broth to spill out on Hinata and the bed. Hinata gripped the spoon and stirred the liquid slowly, her face twisted into disgust. It didn't look so good.

**-o-**

_The cat, on the other hand, was constantly living for the day. When he made a kill, he ate it and saved none for later. He had fun and never did any work to help his friend mouse or himself._

**-o-**

"…When you were here before you never fainted, so I was worried for a minute there. But when I knew you were fine, I then had another problem to solve; how to get you back to your room! I hate to say it, but these old bones just don't work as they used to," Midori continued, not aware that Hinata really wasn't listening to her. "Your father couldn't help me, he had to fill out some papers and get them mailed out before some deadline came, so I called Neji in and we--"

"_What?_" Hinata asked, her voice higher than she had intended it to be. Her hands still gripped the bowl and spoon, but her eyes stared at Midori wide and alert; all former traces of sleep wiped clean from her face. An awkward silence commenced, and Hinata blushed violently and ducked her head, muttering 'sorry' numerous times in a voice as quiet as the falling of leaves. Midori cocked her head, and laid her small, shriveled hand on Hinata's petite shoulder.

"What is it, honey?" She asked in a motherly voice that made Hinata think of her own lost mother.

"I-It's n-n-nothing… I-I was just s-s-surprised that N-N-Neji was…. h-here…."

Midori nodded morosely, and removed her hand from Hinata's arm. "Yes," she sighed, "he's been here for…" she struggled to find the number, "I believe four years now."

Hinata struggled through her forest of memories to try and find why Neji would be living with her father. But before she could voice a question, Midori answered her thoughts.

"I don't know if you know, but Neji's father died in a tragic house fire when Neji was nine. His poor mother was so distraught that she killed herself a month afterward!" Midori shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Master Hiashi was kind enough to allow Neji to live with him when your mother never answered the letter we had sent her to inform her of Neji's unfortunate circumstances." She sighed and shook her head, and a moment of silence passed.

**-o-**

_The winter finally came one day, with bitter snow and biting air. The mouse lived comfortably, while the cat suffered terribly. When the cat visited his friend mouse, he discovered all the mouse had saved, and begged for warmth and food. The mouse, unable to turn away his friend, accepted._

**-o-**

Hinata knew her mother had never even received a letter, and was confused. After her mother had left her father, Hinata had never had any contact with her cousin or his parents, and it came to a shock to her that he would've ended up here as she did. Yet she remembered how they had been friends long before she had moved to the bustling city of Konoha with her mother, and those came as bubbles of hope that filled her chest better than the congealed soup ever could.

They had trusted each other, and Neji had been a beacon of light when he would come and visit Hinata's dreary home with his father to discuss business with her's. They would play Hide n' Seek in the shriveled rhododendrons out front and in the encroaching forest that stood, ever watchful, behind the mansion. It made her happy to know that, just maybe, she wouldn't be so alone in this forsaken house. Despite herself, Hinata let a species of smile creep on her face.

**- -oOo- -**

**-o-**

_The cat then proceeded to eat everything the mouse had so meticulously saved. He devoured nearly all in sight, not heeding the mouse's cries that he stop. When he was finished, the mouse cried and told him of what wrong he had done, and said he would no longer consider himself the cat's friend. _

**-o-**

The next day, it was still raining; the same painful drizzle that had prevented Hinata from getting any sleep as it pounded relentlessly against her old bedroom window. She could already feel depression stalking her in the shadows, and kept herself busy by exploring the house that had once been considered her home. Yet with every room she stepped in, memories and recollections would tug at her mind, and she found herself in even more of a knot than she was before. Hanabi already seemed comfortable enough, for she was in her old nursery doing who only knew what. All Hinata knew was she wasn't crying her heart out as Hinata had done earlier. She wanted to visit Neji; to find someone who cared and was in the same situation she was. So late in the afternoon, she finally worked up the courage to stand in front of the door that Midori had identified led to Neji's room.

**-o-**

_The cat grew angry, and decided that if the mouse would prove to be so rude to him, he would simply eat him as well, which he did. _

**-o-**

She pulled unconsciously at the edges of her pleated sleeves and stared with wide eyes at the oak door that stood menacingly before her. She swallowed once, and reached with a shaking fist towards the wood.

_What if he's changed? What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he's angry I'm here?_

However, each negative thought was shot down with a so-sure statement from the other half of her mind.

_Neji wouldn't change! Of course he would want to see me! Why would he be angry that he has a friend, a cousin, here?_

And it was these statements that allowed her to reach up higher, and knock with her sweating hand on the large wooden door.

"Can I help you?"

The voice from behind was cold and harsh, and made poor Hinata nearly jump out of her already clammy skin. Her hand froze in mid-air and she could feel her face heating up. She was certain she looked like a doe caught in headlights. She turned around slowly, and was met with an icy glare that was so callous she was certain it was her father for one moment. Then he spoke again, and she knew the voice that bordered tediously on the line of adulthood could only belong to _Neji_.

**-o-**

_This helped none, however, for the cat grew lonely and hungry, and could not last the winter, and eventually died itself._

**-o-**

**Notes:** So what did you think? I'm feeling alright with this chapter...So why don't you review and tell me? Sorry about the slow, boring, cliffhanger chapters that are moving like snails right now, but this story needs some background before we move on to bigger, action-filled stuff in the later chapters! So bear with me, please! Thanks for reading!


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